The undersigned members of the International Balzan Prize Foundation Board and of the Balzan General Prize Committee share the concerns expressed by ALLEA (The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities) in its statement of 27 February, which emphasises that cuts in scientific research and the suspension of funding for universities and research institutes in the United States have global repercussions, negatively impacting transatlantic collaboration among scientists and scholars.
The International Balzan Foundation “Prize” joins the more than 40 European research institutes and academies that have signed this appeal to support academic freedom, a fundamental element of democratic societies, and hopes that the virtuous circle based on the exchange of data and ideas, which for decades has been the basis of scientific progress, continues on its path towards the global improvement of the living conditions of humanity.
For the Board of the Balzan Prize Foundation
Maria Cristina Messa (President), Laura Laera (Vice President), Marco Cameroni, Paola Germano, Alberto Quadrio Curzio
For the General Prize Committee
Marta Cartabia (Chair), Sebastian Bonhoeffer (Vice Chair), Peter Kuon (Vice Chair), Nanci Adler, Frances Ashcroft, Sierd Cloetingh, Paolo de Bernardis, Børge Diderichsen, Salwa El-Shawan, Castelo-Branco, Nathalie Heinich, Massimo Inguscio, Alberto Mantovani, Helen Margetts, Christoph Riedweg, Maria Strømme, Erika von Mutius, Tristan Weddigen.